Friends Never Say Goodbye
by Hikaru Hayashi
Summary: What would have happened in El Dorado if Miguel had stayed behind like he originally intended and Tulio and Chel left without him? Would they miss each other as much as they think? Safe rating, later pairings, no slashPlz R&R!
1. Parting Ways

By Hikaru Hayashi

Story from _The Road to El Dorado_

Hello, Road to El Dorado fans. I'm Hayashi Hikaru (yeah, you figured that out). Anyway, I got this idea when I was watching the movie, and since this is a new topic for me, I don't know how this will go over (heck no one might review at all), but whatever. We'll just see.

Full Summary: (Set at the end of the movie) Tzekel-kan dies in the whirlpool and is therefore unable to help Cortes and his men find the city of El Dorado. Because this happened, there was nothing to change the course of events after Miguel's fight with Tulio. Tulio leaves El Dorado with Chel, and Miguel stays behind. Will the friends ever see each other again? Will they even miss each other? (Warning-later pairings: TulioxChel, MiguelxOC)

So, with that out of the way, let's start.

Disclaimer note: I don't own anything affiliated with The Road to El Dorado. I don't own Tulio, Miguel, Altivo, Chel, and any related characters. So don't sue me.

(If you sue me for anything, it's the bad title. I hadn't intended to name the fic after one of the songs from the movie. Man, do I suck at titles:pouts:)

Friends Never Say Goodbye

Chapter 1: Parting Ways

This was great. Things didn't exactly go as he'd planned, but then again, he couldn't have planned it better. He should have known that those two lying idiots weren't gods to begin with; there were so many clues. But now that he knew, he planned to crush them, and, in the process, expose them for the frauds they were.

As Tzekel-kan caught up to the two, he said, "I know what you are. And I know what you are not…and you are not gods!"

Tulio and Miguel stared at him. Suddenly, Tulio said to Miguel, "You're not a god?" He grabbed his friend's collar. "You lied to me?" It looked like he nodded to something.

Miguel just gave him a cold stare.

Tulio threw him to the side. _"How dare you!" _ he shouted.

"Hey, it was his stupid plan!" Miguel said to Tzekel-kan.

Tzekel-kan was officially confused. "What…?" he muttered.

"Whoa! **My** plan was that we should lie low!" Tulio answered. "But **your** plan was to run off and be all, 'Oh, look at me, look at me! I'm a god!'" With this, he walked around with a cool stance mocking his partner.

Miguel was infuriated. "That's not true!" he snapped.

"No?" Tulio asked sarcastically. "Who're you kidding? You're buying your own con!"

With a sly look, Miguel replied, "At least I'm not dating mine!"

Tulio stopped in his tracks. "Ooh…low blow…Listen, mister High-and-Mighty, we'd both be sailing out of here with a mountain of gold if you had just listened to me!"

"Well, now you've got all the precious gold, _and_ Chel! So what do you need _me_ for?" Miguel shouted, smacking Tulio upside the head.

"Well, maybe I _don't_ need you anymore!"

"Well then why don't you just go back to Spain and I'll stay here, and we'll both get what we want!"

"That's fine with me, pal!"

"Alright!" Miguel shouted as he smacked Tulio.

"Ooh!" Tzekel-kan exclaimed, obviously enjoying the fight.

"Alright!" Tulio interjected as he slapped Miguel.

"Ouch…!" Tzekel-kan muttered, a wide sinister grin on his face. It looked like he'd won without having to fight at all. He began to chuckle in victory, when he noticed the two pull back their fists…**and aim them at him. **

Before he knew it, he was flying backwards. He landed on the edge of the cliff. "Tie him up!" he heard Tulio shout. _Oh, no they **didn't**! _ They tried to set him up. He couldn't believe he'd let those bumbling idiots get the drop on him. In an angry fit, he summoned his giant stone jaguar to finish them off once and for all.

Unfortunately for Tzekel-kan, they had dodged out of the way and the jaguar was weighing the cliff down…and he had nowhere to run. The cliff collapsed and he went falling into the whirpool below, meeting a watery end.

(Hanging from the cliff…) 

Tulio chuckled as he and Miguel hung from the vines on the cliff, content about the victory over Tzekel-kan. "That was good!" he said to Miguel.

Miguel just glared at him coldly.

Tulio realized at that moment that Miguel was mad at him for real. He didn't know what he'd said to make him mad, but if he was mad, he was just going to let him be mad. _Fine then…_ Tulio thought as Miguel climbed up his vine. _Be that way! _

As Miguel reached the top of the cliff, Tulio heard cheers from the people. _Hey! What gives? _ he thought as he started to climb up. He looked over the top to see a bunch of people carrying Miguel and cheering for him. _What…the…**heck**?_ It was _his_ idea that defeated Tzekel-kan! Miguel was too busy being conceited as far as Tulio was concerned.

Tulio reached the top of the cliff, but stumbled at bit. "Hey, help, please?" he muttered. _Oh what's the use…_ he thought, frustrated. As he was finally able to pull himself up he heard Miguel's voice:

"_Chief Tani! I've decided to stay!" _

_What? He's actually staying? That's it, Miguel's really lost his mind this time._ All this time, Tulio thought he was just saying that because he was mad, but it seemed like he was serious.

"Tulio!" Came Chel's voice as she pushed her way through the crowd and ran to him. "Is everything alright?"

Tulio looked up. Miguel looked back at him as the crowd carried him away once more. Tulio's eyes narrowed. "Everything's fine…" he lied.

**(The Next Day…)**

The boat shoved off. It sailed nicely, considering it was carrying a huge load of gold. Tulio looked back at the people of El Dorado and waved one last time. Out of the corner of his eye, he looked at his Chel. Despite the fact that she was leaving her home, probably never to return, she didn't seem so upset. She seemed more excited than anything. She had a huge grin on her face as she waved goodbye to her people.

Tulio wished he could be as ecstatic as Chel was right now. But something didn't feel right. He had everything he'd ever dreamed of. He had a mountain of gold and a beautiful girlfriend whom he hoped to marry. But he felt like he was missing something…something important.

He looked up to his right. He saw a figure standing at the top of some steps. Then it hit him. The something he was missing was his best friend Miguel.

His friend stared down at them with a kind of remorseful look in his eyes. Serves him right. He shouldn't have stayed behind. But, apparently, he wanted to stay. If he wanted, he could jump in this boat right here and now and go with Tulio and Chel. He did not and the boat sailed on, now far out of his reach. Tulio stared at the gate, then back at the people, then at Miguel.

Tulio sighed. Then he looked back at the gate, wondering what lay ahead for him and Chel…and being hit with a shocking jolt of reality: this would be last time he saw Miguel. After all these years, after all the crazy times they had together, he would now be separated from his best friend…possibly forever.

The boat sailed through the gate. _Don't look back, Tulio, _he told himself. _El Dorado no longer exists to you…keep telling yourself that…You'll never see the Chief again…you'll never see the people again…you'll never see Miguel again…it's just you and Chel now…_

He blinked a tear out of his left eye and stared ahead, hoping that Chel didn't notice, as he prepared for the journey that lay ahead of them…

End Chapter One

Only one thing to say, just tell me if it's even worth updating. This was just something off the top of my head that's been bugging me for the longest (but most of my good ideas are. Then again, for all I know, I should probably have not considered posting this, but…)

Anyway, review please! (And make sure not to leave any rude comments. I have a bad experience with flames and they make me…um…touchy, shall we say.)


	2. Separation Anxiety?

By Hikaru Hayashi

Okay…well, no one reviewed chapter one, so I'll update for the heck of it. I told you it wasn't the end of the world. Like I said, it don't faze me none if nobody reviews; I'll just keep writing. It never stopped me before, and it won't stop me now.

Just know that now that this chapter is up, it makes a lot more sense and you can see where I'm going with this.

Disclaimer note: I don't own anything.

Chapter 2: Separation Anxiety?

**(Out at Sea/Tulio)**

"_Arrrrgh! I can't believe I let this happen!"_ Tulio cried as he slammed his fist on the railing of the boat. "I shouldn't have left him behind like that."

"But, he wanted to stay," Chel said, putting a hand on Tulio's shoulder. "As his friend, you should understand that."

"I don't know…he did seem pretty mad at me. But then, when I left, why did he look so sad…?" Tulio stared into the sea. He wished that they hadn't gotten into that huge argument. But, the damage was done. He only hoped that Miguel would be happy with his new life, just as he'd try to be happy with his.

_Lighten up, Tulio,_ he told himself. _At least you still have Chel…!_ This thought immediately made him smile as he looked over at Chel. The sun made her dark eyes sparkle. A light breeze blew through her hair. She looked beautiful. He walked over to her and put his arms around her waist. "It's good to know I won't be completely alone…" he said softly as he put a hand to her face.

Chel giggled. "Well, no one deserves to be alone. Besides, I'll be there for you when you need me."

Tulio smiled as he looked into her eyes. "I love you…" he said.

"I know…" she replied.

**(El Dorado/Miguel)**

Miguel sighed heavily as he stared out at the sky. It was still very hard for him to believe that he'd just parted ways with his best friend, whom he'll probably never see again.

"Miguel…don't look so down," came Chief Tannabok's voice.

"Chief Tani…do you ever think I'll see Tulio again?" Miguel asked remorsefully. "I mean…he was like a brother to me…and…all that stuff I said…I didn't mean a word of it…I…I only wish…" he paused as he turned away, hoping that the Chief wouldn't see him crying. "I only wish I could take it all back…"

"What's done is done," was all the Chief said. "You can't change the past."

"I wish I could…" Miguel said to himself, staring off into the distance, as the Chief was walking away. Little did he know, the Chief had heard his little side comment, but chose to say nothing.

Altivo trotted over to his master's side and nudged him.

Miguel smiled slightly as he patted his horse. "At least I still have you, Altivo," he sighed. He turned and took a last look at the gate before walking away.

**(Somewhere out at sea/Tulio)**

"Please tell me we're not lost, Tulio," Chel sighed as she plopped down on the deck. "We've been out here for who knows how long…days, maybe even a month!"

"No…this is alright…I can get us out of this…!" Tulio said as he stared at a compass trying to figure out which way to go and how to work it. The poor guy could follow a map, but they didn't have one. And without a map, he couldn't navigate his way out of a paper bag. Still, he couldn't let Chel know that! "Darn thing's busted…" he lied.

"_Sheesh…_yeah right…" Chel muttered, frustrated, seeing through Tulio's lie. Who was he trying to fool? She knew darn well that he couldn't navigate this stupid block of wood.

Tulio was starting to become annoyed. He knew that if Altivo were there, he would be laughing at him, if horses could laugh. He could also see the look that Miguel would have, that look that mocked him playfully as he said "You do realize that if you don't figure this out, we're going to be stuck out here for a very long time!" And Tulio would answer back "Then why don't YOU navigate, Mr. Smart Guy?" This would lead to another one of their arguments, which actually helped lower Tulio's frustration. Since he didn't have Miguel to argue with, frustration got the better of him as he threw the compass out into the ocean.

"_Tulio! Now we'll never find our way!" _ Chel shouted.

"Nah…we don't need that stupid thing…" Tulio muttered, his blood boiling with anger and frustration. He was so useless. He couldn't even navigate. It seemed he couldn't do anything right lately. _It's all Miguel's fault! He had to go and stay behind and make me all preoccupied and useless and crap! Why did he have to go and stay behind! Curse you, Miguel! _

In all his life, he never thought he'd find himself cursing his best friend. They had saved each other's necks so many times. But, then again, he never thought he would be without his partner. They were a team, as inseparable as brothers, yet here he was all by himself (apart from Chel, of course).

As he stared blankly at the horizon, he thought he saw a thin, distant line that made up a shore. He stared harder, and realized that he was indeed seeing land. "Aha! See, I told you I could get us out of this mess!" he proclaimed boldly, hoping Chel wouldn't see through his lie.

Chel stared at him. _He's hopeless…_ she thought as she hung her head in disappointment.

**(El Dorado/Miguel)**

"_Argh! I can't stand this! I can't stand it at all!" _

Startled by a loud banging noise while taking a walk, a girl around 19 or 20 hid behind a wall. Slowly, she peeked around the wall to see what the noise was. What she saw startled her even more…

It was now Miguel's turn to bang his head on a wall. After hitting his head very hard about 6 times and giving himself a serious migraine, he fell to the ground in despair. _Crap. Why did I think I could do this? '**You** can go back to Spain, Tulio, and I'll stay here!' I can't believe this…I…what the heck was I thinking?_

Miguel sighed heavily. He felt like crying. Now that he thought about it, that argument they had was really stupid. He didn't know why he chose to stay behind. _I guess I was just angry…_ he thought. _Crap. If it's anything I've regretted in my life, it's choosing to stay here…I'm never going to see my best friend ever again…this is one predicament I can't get out of…crap. What am I going to do…?_

The girl sighed as she watched Miguel. She stood, playing with her semi-long black ponytail, confused and wondering; _I don't understand…he's so…depressed…ever since Lord Tulio left, he's been so melancholy…you'd think he would have gotten over this by now, it's already been quite a few days…_ By now, the girl was coming to the realization that Chel and Chief Tani had come to…that maybe, just maybe, Miguel wasn't a god at all!

_He's human…!_ she thought in shock. _He's only human…and he's lonely…_ She was shocked by the possibility of her realization. She was even more alarmed when she found herself slowly approaching him…

She tiptoed slowly towards Miguel, and, upon reaching him tapped him lightly on the shoulder, startling the living daylights out of him.

"_Whoh!"_ He exclaimed as he jumped back, falling to the ground.

"_Yikes!"_ The girl exclaimed as she jumped back.

The two stared at each other for the longest time.

Finally, the girl decided to speak up. "Um…hello…"

Miguel waved. "Hey," he replied.

"Um…Excuse me…I, uh…I'm so sorry, Lord Miguel…I should just…" the girl stumbled over her words as she slowly backed up. "I'm…uh…I'll, uh, I'll just go now…!" She turned to run away, when…

"_Wait, don't leave!" _

She stopped. "Huh?" She turned back around. She just knew she was in trouble until she turned to see a smile on Miguel's face.

"Why don't you stay for a while? I won't mind," he said to her.

She thought about how lonely he seemed just a few moments ago. "Ah…alright," she said as she sat down next to him.

"So…" he started, "what's your name?"

"I'm Lina," she said shyly.

"Lina…" Miguel repeated. "That's a pretty name."

Lina blushed. "Oh…uh…well…um…thanks…Lord Miguel…"

"Please. Just call me Miguel, okay?"

"Uh…okay."

From behind a corner, Chief Tani watched as Lina and Miguel talked. He chuckled. _Lina just might be the perfect remedy for Miguel's loneliness,_ he thought as he walked away smiling. _They do make a very cute couple…!_

End Chapter Two

Yeah, I know what you're thinking. One of two things: 1) Oh, no! Not another MiguelxOC fic! Or, 2) The Chief is a freaking spy!

Answer to 1): No, my OC, Lina, is not based on myself whatsoever (I despise self-inserts), and this fic promises to be very interesting. Answer to 2): Well, I can't do anything about the Chief being a spy. That's just how he came off in this chapter, even as I myself was writing it.

But, feel free to review (or not; as you can see, it obviously doesn't faze me). But, it would be very nice if you reviewed.


	3. Playing With Fire

By Hikaru Hayashi

A little poem I thought of off the top of my head. This one's for all you non-reviewers out there:

"You can't keep me down.

You can run up the hit counter,

you can neglect to review,

but you can't keep me down!

You can choose not to read,

you can criticize my work,

you can think whatever you want

but you can't keep me down.

I'll keep on updating.

So I have no reviews.

It doesn't faze me,

not in the least.

(The only thing that bugs me are flames!)

So, go on not reviewing.

Do whatever the crap you want;

I'll keep writing this story to the end,

_Because You Can't Keep Me Down!"_

'Nuff said.

Disclaimer note: I don't own The Road to El Dorado. Well, I own it on DVD, and I've watched it like a hundred million times (Ah…"Someday Out of the Blue"…really cool song…! Ehem, anyway, that's not the point). However, I do own my OC Lina, although nobody cares, huh?

Random note: This applies to all chapters, including the last one:

**(Location, i.e. Spain, El Dorado/Main character 3rd person POV, i.e. Tulio, Miguel)**

Chapter 3: Playing With Fire

"A Song and a Thief"

**(Some random port town/Tulio & Chel)**

"Tulio…" Chel started wearily, "why are we stopping here?"

Tulio stopped in his tracks. "Why?" he repeated. "You wish to know why? Because I thought it would be nice to stock up on our rapidly depleting supplies, that's why!" Then, under his breath, he muttered, "And to get directions, because I have no clue what the heck I'm doing…"

Chel heard this comment. _I knew it… _she thought as she sighed and slapped her hand on her forehead.

As they headed for the market, a shadow was watching them. _Wow…that's a lot of gold they have with them!_ it thought. _I wonder how much of it I can steal…no, wait…I won't steal the gold…I'll just commandeer the whole ship! _

The unknown figure slinked in the shadows towards the boat, and the gold on board it…

**(El Dorado/Lina)**

Lina was out on her daily stroll. She, unlike Chel, enjoyed living in El Dorado. _Boy, was Chel ever so strange…who'd want to leave?_ she thought as she stared into the clouds, part of her happy that Chel was gone. No one misses her anyway, she thought, _And besides.._._she's an eyesore…that little…!_

She calmed herself down and thought of something else. _This place is so wonderful. I think that's the reason Miguel stayed behind…Miguel…_

She silently reprimanded herself. This was the fifth time she'd thought of him today. _What am I doing? Why do I keep thinking about him?_

She tried to think of something else, when she heard the faint sound of a guitar. "Oh…" she sighed as she followed the music. _It's beautiful…whoever's playing is very good!_

Lina followed the sad, remorseful sound until she reached a dead end. The area overlooked the rest of the city and it was almost as if she could touch the sky, it seemed so close. Surprisingly, there was no one in the area except for one person, sitting on the edge…

"Miguel…" she whispered softly, still entranced by the song he played on his guitar. The music truly moved her…she took a step forward…just to step on a twig.

The snap of the twig startled Miguel. He gasped as he stopped playing and swirled around. "What? Who's there?"

Lina grumbled under her breath. "Oh great…"

To her amazement, Miguel let out a sigh of relief. "Oh…it's just you, Lina…"

Lina smiled. "Don't stop playing. I was enjoying the music!" she said as she sat down next to him. "You are a very talented musician."

"Why, thank you," Miguel replied.

"Play something else, Miguel," Lina said. She closed her eyes as her ears were once again filled with the sound of Miguel's guitar. The music lifted her soul. She felt as light as a feather. She sighed as she leaned her head on Miguel's shoulder. At that moment, nothing else in the world mattered to her.

**(The random port town/Unknown)**

"_Stop! Thief!"_

The subject in pursuit hid behind a building. His reckless plan to hijack that boat with all the gold didn't quite go as planned. He didn't expect the owners of the boat to return with their supplies that quickly. He only got away with a sack full. And, what's worse, now the owners were hot on his trail.

_Crap, they've got me cornered,_ he thought as he realized he was playing with fire. He held his breath as the voices drew nearer…

"He went this way."

"Are you sure, Tulio? You can't even navigate. How are you supposed to chase a thief?"

"Shut your trap. I know what I'm doing."

"Can't you just let it go? He only got away with twelve pieces of gold."

"Twelve pieces of MY gold!"

A sigh of frustration. "Do you have to be so money-hungry?"

"Look, Chel. I'm getting my gold back! Either you're down with that, or you're not. Now, you can either help me, or wait with the ship and make sure nobody else steals my gold…"

Another sigh of frustration, and a mutter: "He's so stingy…"

Suddenly, the man who was apparently called Tulio, shouted out:

"DO YOU HEAR ME? I KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE, SCUMBAG! NOBODY GETS AWAY WITH STEALING **MY** GOLD!"

"Tulio, please! Twelve pieces of gold?"

"Twelve pieces of gold that do not belong to him!"

"Garh…Tulio…!"

"Don't make me have to explain it again, Chel."

The thief hidden in the shadows chuckled. His pursuers argued like an old married couple! Neither one of them look over 25! And he was certain they weren't married…at least…he didn't think they were, it was hard to tell.

"YOU HEAR ME, PUNK? THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE! SURRENDER THE GOLD, AND YOUR LIFE WILL BE SPARED!"

_O-kay…this man is officially starting to freak me out!_ the thief thought, sweating bullets. He decided to make a break and run for it while he had the chance. Not knowing which way his pursuers were coming from, he backed up in a random direction, and when he turned around, he was met face to face with Tulio.

"Hey there," Tulio said; a wide, evil grin spread across his face as he began to crack his knuckles. "I believe you have something that belongs to me!"

The thief gulped. "Hey, look, man, I know not of what you are referring to. I'm not a thief, you know."

"Oh? Then what do you call **this**?" Tulio shouted as he ripped the bag off of the thief's back. The sack ripped and out tumbled Tulio's stolen gold. "Not a thief, eh?" he asked sarcastically as he backed the poor man into a corner, still cracking his knuckles.

The thief gulped. "Oh…I'm caught. I'm in trouble now!"

"Oh, like heck you are!" Tulio growled. "Say hi to my fists for me, would you?"

With these words, he commenced to beat the living daylights out of the thief, grinding him into a pulp as Chel stood watching, sighing and shaking her head. _Good freaking grief…_ she thought. _All this over twelve pieces of gold! _

**(El Dorado/Miguel)**

Miguel was quite shocked when he found that Lina was watching him. He had come to this spot to get away from everyone and to be alone for a while, never realizing that someone could find him.

He was even more amazed when she told him she had enjoyed his playing. It was kind of flattering to him to know that someone liked his playing. So, when she asked him to play for her, he couldn't refuse.

After a good while, he stopped playing. He noticed that Lina had been awfully quiet. "Lina?" he whispered. No reply. Miguel smiled. _She must have fallen asleep!_ he thought.

He sighed as he watched her sleeping form. She looked so peaceful; he really hated to have to wake her up. He put his guitar down and gently shook her. "Lina…?"

Her eyes opened, the look of content still glued to her face. "Mmm…Miguel…why did you stop playing?"

"You fell asleep."

"I did…?" She asked as she sat up, lifting her head from its comfortable position on Miguel's shoulder. "Oh, shoot."

"It's all right. You'd better be getting back, now," he said as he picked his guitar back up. "You know people would be suspicious if you were seen with me."

"You're right," she said as she stood up and brushed the dust off of her skirt. "I really hate to be a bother."

"Nonsense! You're not a bother at all," he said cheerfully. _Actually, I enjoy having her around…maybe a little too much…_

"Well, I guess I should go now," she said slowly as she walked away. "I'll see you later, Miguel."

"Bye, Lina," he replied as he watched her leave. The sun's rays illuminated her disappearing figure. She looked radiant.

_She looks beautiful,_ Miguel thought. Actually, there were times where he found her darn near attractive. He liked everything about her. She was kind, and gentle; she had been there for him when he had been down in the dumps about not seeing Tulio again. He was beginning to grow quite fond of her.

When he realized how stupid and ridiculous these thoughts seemed, Miguel growled and shook his head. Altivo trotted up to him and nudged him. "I'm playing with fire, Altivo," he said to his horse as he patted Altivo's nose. "I'd better be careful. I don't want to get burned…"

End Chapter Three

And so, the chapter ends. Miguel realizes he has feelings for Lina. Lina has a secret about something in her past involving her and Chel. And will Tulio ever learn to navigate and get him and Chel to Spain in one piece?

These and more questions will be revealed…later in the story. I would much obliged if I received even ONE review! Like I said, it doesn't faze me, but it would be very considerate if you reviewed. I would very much appreciate it. (Sounds like begging? I am begging…in some way.)


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